By Don Rush

In a year’s time one local family has turned their grief of losing their son into a foundation that not only nourishes the minds and souls of its members, but also gives back to the community.

42 Strong – The Tate Myre Foundation is a mentoring program started in December 2021, after the Nov 30 mass shooting that saw four Oxford High School students murdered, six other students and one teacher injured. One of the students who lost his life was 16-year-old Tate Myre, his family – led by father Buck – started the foundation to keep the memory of Tate alive. The foundation supports a peer mentoring program which includes 19 adult team leaders, 123 high school-aged mentors and 129 middle school aged “mentees.”

Program Director Scott Claxton has been involved with the foundation from the beginning. “Our family has been friends with the Myres for almost 30 years. After Nov. 30th last year, Buck asked if I would like to participate in creating a mentoring program to honor Tate’s legacy. I couldn’t get the word ‘yes’ out of my mouth fast enough,” he said.

The foundation utilizes the motto of “Trust, Love, Build” to put others first and to embrace the concept of working as a team. This month members of 42 Strong have turned to “giving back” to the community with a number of service projects. According to Claxton, 42 Strong members have: Organized/Sorted cans at Oxford/Orion FISH: “Spruced up” a meeting space within Oxford Open-Handed’s new location in the village complex on W. Burdick Street; Created holiday “thank you gift bags” for local police, fire and sheriff departments; Made fleece blankets to donate to kuddle4kenzie, a nonprofit that donates blankets to hospitalized children during the holidays; Visited Independence Village Senior Living complex, visiting with residents, making ornaments, crafts and playing games; Volunteered at Covenant Hills Campground 2nd annual Santa Brunch; Put together “Birthday Bags” to donate to FISH; Created “thank you” cards, cookie trays, gift bags and ornaments to thank local businesses who have supported 42 Strong and the community over the last year; Volunteered to work at PEAS Animal Sanctuary in Oxford; and, on Dec. 16 put fresh coats of wax on the fire trucks at Oxford Fire Department Station No. 1, on N. Washington Street.

Adult Team Leader Joel McCormick organized the fire department project with Lt. Kevin Snell. “I wanted the kids not only to ‘give back’ but also learn a ‘life skill.’ How many kids today know how to wax a car – a way to maintain and prolong the life of their vehicles? It’s all drive through car washes these days,” McCormick said.

About two dozen mentors and mentees showed up on Saturday, Dec. 16 and took instruction from Lt. Snell. “When we’re putting on the wax,” he told the group, “we’re going to do it in small circles going to the left. When we take it off, we’ll use small circles going to the right. Trust me, it’s easier this way.”

Claxton said being a part of the program is not only changing the lives of students involved, but also of the adult team leaders.

“Watching how the Myre Family has responded to this tragedy has been truly inspirational. In the midst of dealing with their own grief and trauma they have worked incredibly hard to build a program to support Oxford. This has been no small task on their part and being a part of the 42 Strong journey has changed my life profoundly,” he said. “I truly see how building supportive relationships through mentoring, building community through service and getting engaged in being part of the solution can make a huge difference in our community.

“This is our first program year. We put our curriculum and program together in the span of three months to serve the community as quickly as possible. We have learned so much during this first year about what the mentors and mentees need to be successful, how to train and involve our adult team leaders, how to engage with local businesses as well as non-profit operations in general. I am excited about the direction of the program and we will continue to get better each year.”

He said the first year has been dedicated to serving the Oxford community. “We are just now getting an opportunity to catch our breath and think about what the future holds for 42 Strong. We will remain hyper focused on building the absolute best program we can to serve Oxford, additionally we will use our voice to advocate for peer mentoring type programs at the state level to help combat the frighteningly increasing levels of adolescent anxiety and depression. Beyond that we are entering into a strategic planning process where our team will craft a more detailed vision of our future.”

Recruiting for the 2023-2024 mentor class will begin on February 15 and run until April 1. Students currently in 6th-11th grade can register during this period. Additionally the group is “always looking for adult volunteers.” Email info@42strongtate.org for a volunteer application.